To Stage or Not to Stage

When it comes to selling your home, there are many things to consider, from determining value to completing necessary repairs, and finding the right Realtor®; the list of things to do before you can sell your home can quickly grow. Home Staging is one selling strategy that invariably will come up when you are getting ready to list your home. What exactly does this mean and can it really help make the sale? In brief, Home Staging is purposefully presenting your home in its best light in terms of furnishings and decorations. Home Staging is the interior version of Curb Appeal. The first thing potential buyers see when coming to view a house is the front yard, entry way, and front door. This area should be clean and welcoming, setting a great first impression. But what happens when they walk through the front door? Hopefully people viewing your home are still enamored with how it looks and feel welcome inside. This is where Home Staging can come in to play.

When staging your home, if you can’t afford to remodel your rooms prior to selling, you can still achieve a welcoming look and feel that will help potential buyers envision what they will want to do with the space. This is the core goal of home staging, and it can be done without spending a lot of money. Fresh paint in neutral colors is one of the easiest things to do. Neutral colors will help you have less negative reactions to a fun, bright color which you may think is striking and full of personality, but others do not. Many buyers are turned off by seeing rooms that don’t meet their tastes. According to a 2015 study by the National Association of Realtors® on the Profile of Staging, 10% of Realtors® reported that buyers will see less value in a home not decorated to their tastes. Neutral colors will help keep this from being an issue.

Another key component to staging your home is to clean up the clutter. Get all your trips to Goodwill done, clean out your closets, and pack away any extraneous things you can – collections, books, toys, games, luggage, and out-of-season clothes. Organize your garage to maximize its use and make for easier viewing. When you have less clutter, you can then arrange your furniture to allow for clear and free flow, and when potential buyers walk through, they will see a greater amount of storage available when there is room to spare. If you are facing a time crunch, begin with the three most important rooms for staging: the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom. These are key areas that buyers look closely at when viewing homes. Staging these rooms can even add to the value a potential buyer is willing to place on a property. Realtors® working with both buyers and sellers have indicated in the “Profile on Staging Report” that a 1-10% increase on the value can be achieved; buyers are willing to pay more when they see a home staged.

But does staging really work? According to the 2015 Profile of Staging results, the answer is yes, it does. The results show that 49% of Realtors® who represent buyers indicate that Home Staging impacts the final decision of most their buyers, and 47% said Home Staging impacts at least some of their buyers. Clearly, Home Staging has an impact on a large part of the home buying population. An overwhelming majority of Realtors® polled, 81%, said that Home Staging helped buyers visualize what the home would look like in their hands. Another plus to Home Staging is in the probability of potential buyers looking past flaws in the property; 28% of Realtors® said they experienced buyers who were willing to overlook flaws or work needed on a property if it was staged well. Home Staging can also help when it comes to online listings. 45% Realtors® reported that people were more willing to view a home in person after seeing it online. Photos of your home once it has been staged can help get people through the door, bringing you more potential buyers.

It is up to you how much you want to stage your home, but figures show it can give you an extra edge when it comes to selling your property. When you are ready to sell or buy a home, myself and my team are ready to help you through the entire process. We make the business of real estate a pleasure for you to experience. Contact us today at (925) 634-7820, or by email at realestate@cecily.com.